Tubby Smith offers Mark Pope words of wisdom on replacing John Calipari: “Stay the course”
Tubby Smith can remember sitting there with his wife, Donna, at Bridgestone Arena this past March for the SEC Tournament.
The three-time SEC Coach of the Year was invited to represent the University of Kentucky as a member of the 2024 SEC Legends class, honored at halftime of the Wildcats’ opening-round matchup vs. Texas A&M in Nashville.
His joy quickly transitioned into uneasiness as he watched the clock hit triple zeroes with Kentucky falling by a final score of 97-87, sent home in a blink once again. Smith watched the fans hit the exits juggling anger, sadness and confusion.
“You could kind of see it,” the five-time SEC Tournament-winning coach told KSR. “I witnessed it. You could kind of sense it when they lost, there was kind of a hush over the crowd. I was there with my wife and was like, ‘Oh boy, this is (tough).’”
Meeting with Calipari and Pope before the coaching changes
That would be the first of back-to-back postseason losses for the Wildcats, the next coming against No. 14 seed Oakland in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. John Calipari wouldn’t coach another game at Kentucky, leaving for Arkansas immediately after the Final Four in April with conversations starting during the prestigious event.
Ironically, Smith was there with Coach Cal in Phoenix, the two having breakfast together one morning when a familiar face walked up to join them.
“I had just seen him at the Final Four and we spent some time together, just conversing and talking,” Smith said. “Actually, we were down in the concierge lounge one morning having breakfast and Mark Pope came in.
So there’s Mark Pope, John Calipari and myself taking a picture together. So people later on said, ‘Tubby, did you know?’ Like I had something to do with Cal leaving! It was really interesting.”
Being in a similar position at Kentucky
Interesting is one way to put it, those days of mass chaos from April 7 when reports of Calipari finalizing the five-year deal with Arkansas first emerged to April 12 when similar reports involving Pope and Kentucky broke. How does one voluntarily leave the throne in Lexington for Fayetteville?
On the surface, yeah, it’s pretty mind-blowing. If there is one person that knows that feeling, though, it’s Tubby Smith, making a similar move from Kentucky to Minnesota in 2007.
“It was shocking, number one,” Smith told KSR. “I mean, that may be the number one sports story in college sports all of last year: John Calipari leaving the Kentucky Wildcats to go to the Arkansas Razorbacks. … I know how tough it was for Cal and I told him that.
But again, you don’t want to be somewhere where you’re just tolerated. People end up — if you’re not careful, familiarity may breed contempt.”
Winning titles is ‘hard to do’
Smith was a National Coach of the Year with five regular season titles and four Elite Eights, racking up 100 wins faster than any coach in UK history not named Adolph Rupp before Coach Cal did it a few years later.
But his first Final Four and national championship in 1998 would be his last, and fans got restless over the course of the decade, just as they did with Calipari in his decade and a half.
“Even though you’re succeeding — and Cal had some great years, now. You can’t find a better coach. Man, it’s hard to find a better one or a better recruiter, just a good person,” Smith said. “… But in my 10 years — and I’ve been here previously (as an assistant under Rick Pitino from 1989-91).
That transition I was familiar with, then the transition going from Georgia to coming here. But I could tell in my 10 years, even in my first seven, eight years. We won a championship in our first year and that may have been the best thing and the worst thing, because now, what are you going to do as an encore?
“Obviously, we thought we’d win more championships and had expectations of championships, but it’s hard. It’s hard to do. That’s why what Connecticut has done and what Coach (Dan) Hurley has done is just remarkable. No one did it previously — Billy Donovan (at Florida), and that was, what, 20 years ago? 15, 20 years ago? It’s not easy to win championships.”
Advice for Pope as he takes over
Coaching at Kentucky is a beast, something Mark Pope will have to learn in time when the games get rolling in a couple of months and the years to come. He’s got an advantage, though, experiencing the pressure cooker in Lexington as a championship-winning player before taking on this challenge as a coach.
That’s what gives Smith hope Pope is the clear man for the job, along with his personal experience interacting with the new leader of the program.
